This invention generally pertains to fluid containers. More specifically, the present invention relates to a metal barrel, the ends of which are encased in a plastic material which is shaped to provide cooperating stacking rings.
The invention is particularly applicable to beer kegs and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention has broader applications and may also be adapted for use in containers or vessels for storing and shipping other beverages, as well as assorted fluids, such as chemicals, paints, and the like.
Heretofore, most conventional beer kegs were made entirely out of a metal, such as aluminum or steel. These kegs were generally provided with openings in the side and top walls in which a filler plug and a tapper plug were respectively mounted. Metal kegs are, however, heavy, and therefore difficult to handle, dent fairly easily and are noisy in handling. Moreover, it is expensive to shape the metal to produce suitable stacking surfaces on metal kegs.
More recently, a beer keg made entirely of plastic has become known. Such a keg, however, has its own problems in that the walls thereof must be fairly thick in order to be strong enough to stand up to everyday usage and this makes the keg fairly heavy. Also, a plastic keg is more prone to cracking at the low storage temperature of beer than is a metal keg and it does not cool down as quickly as a metal keg. Moreover, most types of plastic are not capable of storing carbonated liquids, such as beer, under pressure.
Another type of beer keg which has recently come into use includes a metal barrel which is completely enclosed by a plastic coating. As even more recent type of keg provides a metal barrel, only the ends of which are encased in a plastic material. There are, however, disadvantages to both of the plastic/metal kegs mentioned above in that they do not have stable stacking surfaces, and also in that they are not easy to handle since they do not have suitable handle apertures on both the top and bottom ends of the keg to allow the keg to be readily lifted sideways. Prior art plastic/metal kegs also are not made of a plastic material which adequately cushions shocks to the keg.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved fluid container wich would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.